Brian Eno is MORE DARK THAN SHARK

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The New Yorker FEBRUARY 25, 2008 - by Sasha Frere-Jones

ALWAYS IN FASHION

Bands like Fall Out Boy are comfortable wearing eyeliner, but who is man enough now to wear blue eyeshadow and a short-waisted jacket that looks like an enormous silver pom-pom? In 1973, that long-haired man was Brian Eno, then merely the synthesizer player for Roxy Music. A new two-DVD set, The Thrill Of It All from Virgin Records, captures thirty-six performances, from the band's androgynous start, in 1972, all the way through to 1982, when they released Avalon, their deathless baby-making album. The band was both decadent and stubborn: virtuoso players who largely restrained themselves from soloing backing up a singer, Bryan Ferry, who refused to accept that he was in a rock band rather than a dinner party. Some of these performances are available online, but Roxy Music needs to be seen in high fidelity. Especially in their youth, the band dressed for work in a way that few bands ever have. As the announcer from BBC's Old Grey Whistle Test summed them up: "Anything but denim."